Brady Henderson
RENTON, Wash. — Ernest Jones IV is waiting for Mike Macdonald to pay off a bet they made in April.
Macdonald, the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach, and his fifth-year middle linebacker made a friendly wager when the team brought in Nick Emmanwori — the Seahawks’ second-round draft pick — for a predraft visit.
As Macdonald was planning to meet with the former South Carolina safety in his office that day, he enlisted Jones to join them, figuring the presence of a fellow former Gamecock would put the prospect’s mind at ease.
But the question was: Would Emmanwori recognize who Jones was?
“I’m glad he did,” Jones said. “He did know who I was, and so I won that bet.”
That was among the few introductions the Seahawks needed on defense this offseason.
Whereas so much will be new for an offense that was transformed over the offseason, everything from the scheme to the coaching staff and most of the personnel will be the same on defense. That continuity is one reason to think Seattle’s defense can take a significant step forward in 2025 after finishing ninth in points allowed during Macdonald’s debut season.
“When we came in at first [last year], it is a big playbook, so it’s a lot to learn,” defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. “I think that now, just banking off of last year, growing what we already know, coming in and then redoing it, it’s like reading the same book over and over again. So now, we get to go out on the field and just play fast, and I think that plays a huge part into being successful and executing our plays.”
The Seahawks kept the core of their defense intact by re-signing Reed and Jones before the start of free agency. They also kept cornerback Josh Jobe, a restricted free agent, and brought back veteran nose tackle Johnathan Hankins after the draft.
Once Hankins returned, 13 of the 16 defenders who played at least 300 snaps for Seattle last season were back in the fold. The three exceptions — linebacker Tyrel Dodson, end Dre’Mont Jones and safety Rayshawn Jenkins — were either waived or released.
“I think it’s obviously going to help you,” defensive coordinator Aden Durde said. “The continuity comes with the understanding of OK, now when we’re going through it, the formation adjustments, they’re talking [through] them, they’re anticipating them and they’re understanding how to play fast. So it’s huge that we’ve got the guys back.”
Also back are all of Macdonald’s and Durde’s key assistants from 2024. This time last year, they were in the early stages of installing the complex defense the head coach had imported from his time with the Baltimore Ravens. The predictable growing pains with a new scheme coupled with some personnel misses in free agency contributed to a rough start for Seattle’s defense, particularly against the run.
That unit allowed 146.1 rushing yards per game (28th) over the first seven weeks. In perhaps the best illustration of the Seahawks’ defensive improvement, they cut that number to 96.2 (seventh) over the final nine weeks.
“I think we came together more,” Reed said. “I think at the time we came in, everybody was just trying to learn what to do, so everybody was kind of out there doing their job. Now, we can go ahead and do our job, but we can do it together. … Just as far as just knowing the plays, we can know where this person’s supposed to be or expect what this person is going to do and we can just trust it, play with it and go with it.”
That turnaround was also keyed by several personnel changes, most notably Jones taking over for Dodson in the middle of the defense after his arrival via a midseason trade with the Tennessee Titans.
The mutual admiration between Jones and the organization was so apparent that before the season was even over, it was starting to seem like a certainty that the two sides would work out a deal to keep the linebacker in Seattle. When Jones re-signed for three years and $28.5 million, it gave him some long-term stability after a pair of trades last year forced him to move his family from Los Angeles to Nashville to Seattle in the span of two months.
The deal came together the same day the Seahawks agreed to re-sign Reed, two major steps toward keeping their defense together.
“That’s my linebacker,” Reed said of Jones. “I say it every time, like Terrell Owens said, ‘That’s my quarterback.’ That’s my linebacker. Seriously though, he’s a great addition, man. He’s a great ballplayer, he’s very smart, he’s a headhunter … one of those guys that we like on the defense, a physical player and smart.”
Jones took part in organized team activities, though he sat out the full-speed team periods as he continues to work his way back from surgery to repair a knee injury that had been bothering him the past two seasons.
“I’m feeling really good,” Jones said. “I’m getting back in the mix right now with the guys, so I’m excited. … I haven’t been able to play my best ball, whether it be the knee or whether it be other circumstances. But I’m excited for this year, truly.”
Emmanwori and veteran end DeMarcus Lawrence are the only offseason additions expected to fill more than just depth roles on defense. However, the Seahawks still have roughly $30 million in cap space, which has fueled speculation that they could be in the mix for a big-name defender on the trade block.
Trey Hendrickson would be an upgrade for a pass-rush rotation that has plenty of solid options but no true No. 1. But the Pro Bowler, who’s seeking a new deal from the Cincinnati Bengals, would likely have to be willing to play out his current contract in Seattle given the Seahawks’ long history of not paying trade acquisitions right away.
Jalen Ramsey, meanwhile, would address perhaps their biggest remaining need. But in addition to the $20 million he’s still owed for 2025, he might not be an ideal fit for the team-first culture that Macdonald is trying to instill now that the Seahawks are moving away from the individualism that former coach Pete Carroll often welcomed.
That new mindset might have been illustrated by the fact that every player on the roster showed up for at least one of the six voluntary OTA sessions, with almost everyone attending all six. That’s where Jones and the rest of the defense continued to build the continuity that could help that unit go from good to great in 2025.
“I think it’s going to be special,” Jones said. “I’m excited. I don’t want to give too much because we’ve got to go, of course, put the work in. But if the vision lives up to what I think, it’s going to be something crazy.”
